|| CHAPTER THREE :
— prescriptions to protect the weak
///
Jeongguk's eyes gradually fluttered open. Groaning, he awoke to the pungent aroma of hospital disinfect and rose-scented candles. The ivory skin around his nose bunched together as he was greeted by a luminous light that shone inches above him.
He slipped in and out of consciousness; his debilitated physique struggled to keep up with the heavy rise and fall of his scorched lungs—coated with a dry sludge his swollen, charred, throat was unable to cough out. Everything twinged from his flaccid shoulders to the sharp pain that shot through his cranium.
From the corner of his bloodshot eye, he made out the blurry silhouette of a fretful man who paced back and forth, nails caught between his teeth.
"H-Hyung?" Jeongguk croaked inadequately, voice swollen and hoarse.
At an instance, the said male came to an abrupt halt. He spun around and faced Jeongguk, who lay sprawled on the uncomfortable wooden Elk pelt hospital bed. The wrinkles on his forehead smoothened with a puff of relief and his arms fell to his sides.
"Bless the Lord, oh my soul! You have awoken," Hoseok cheered and blew a kiss to the wooden ceiling with beliefs it reach the Lord almighty.
From the no-smaller than a biscuit tin window, Jeongguk saw the vivid gleam of dawn peek over the magnificent magenta horizon and felt as its warm rays kissed upon his bruised cheek.
"W-What happened to me? How did I get here?" He managed. Willing himself to an upright, sitting position. He winced and fell back onto his side as a sharp pain shot through his left bandaged knee. A thin sheen of a henbane-hemlock mixture stained the woven cotton fabric, pricked with multiple dry needles to sooth the tenderness in his muscle.
Hoseok rushed to his side and helped him upright. The younger, Jeongguk, thanked him with a subtle nod and a lopsided grin.
"A strange man of silver hair, whom I had never seen before, carried you into the village. Luckily, I on duty brought you here," Hoseok explained. "I have great beliefs of a werewolf attack."
Jeongguk furrowed his brows, and said, "I have no awareness of such, but I can assure you it was no werewolf."
Hoseok scoffed, "You must be bluffing. You dare to tell me those wounds are not of a werewolf?" He weaved his muscular arms cross his firm ironclad chest and quirked a sharp brow.
Jeongguk crossed his arms and eluded his gaze. "I tripped and fell," he murmured.
An awkward hush crept upon the two and tension ruffled the waters in the room. They rarely ever quarrelled. Hoseok was like an overprotective brother and felt as though he should have taken responsibility before he let Jeongguk go. After a while, from the door emerged a tall man who wore a black mask with a bird-like beak. The Plague doctor had the posture of a soldier. Every action he took was precise and purposeful.
"I see you are still here, Sir Jeong," said the Plague doctor. He spoke so eloquently, his voice baritone and rolling. He then turned towards Jeongguk, "You have awoken, Mr. Jeon. How are you feeling?"
Jeongguk's mouth sat ajar, he felt slightly uncomfortable with the scary bird-like mask. Since young he had always had a phobia for animal-human hybrids, especially goat heads on human bodies. They seemed almost satanic. From behind the bird-like mask he heard a laugh equivalent to a windshield-wiper erupt.
"Do not worry, the mask is part of the uniform, but for you I shall remove it," he said and pulled the bird-like mask from his surprisingly handsome face.
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HUNTING THE HUNTED | VKOOK
Fanfiction[ongoing] ✎＿You were either the hunter or the hunted. Jeongguk was a village boy who lived on the outskirts of the ominous forest with his crippled mother, whom he loved dearly. In his village, one was ranked highly and respected if they were to sla...
